Raspberry French Silk Chocolate Truffle Pie with Chambord

 

Did I forget to mention I’m an admitted, proud of it, out of the closet chocoholic? I don’t know that a single day goes by that I don’t indulge in even just a little chocolate! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, doesn’t matter. So long as it’s chocolate of some sorts! God forbid if we run out! I’ve been known to sneak a handful of chocolate chips right from the bag out of my baking supply basket! Terrible. Shameful. So naughty. So good. 😉

At Christmastime and Valentine’s Day, we always spoil ourselves with a couple of boxes of Godiva Chocolates and our favorite is their truffles! Particularly their raspberry truffles! There’s just something undeniably irresistible about the combination of chocolate and raspberry! Is there a more decadent pair in the world? Not in my world there isn’t! To me it’s the ultimate perfect match! 

So my chocolate craving hit me. And it hit me hard! I ravaged my baking basket and found that I had everything on hand to make a French Silk Chocolate Pie – –  but I wanted more. I was feeling greedy and adventurous after finally getting more than 3 hours sleep so I took full advantage of my newfound energy and decided to create a whole new dessert! After perusing the pantry, I hit the jackpot! A brand new, unopened, glorious jar of seedless raspberry jam! I knew there had to be a way to recreate our favorite truffles into one heavenly pie…and I wasn’t going to give up until it was done! Once it was thought of, nothing else was going to even come close to satisfying!

To make pie pastry or not make pie pastry…meh, not today! I decided to whip up a graham cracker crust instead. Much faster! 😉 The sooner the pie the better! 

 

 

After baking, the real fun began! I decided to start with a thin layer of raspberry jam mixed with Chambord Liqueur to mimic the flavored centers of the truffles! Good call. 😉

 

 

 

Next layer up was a chocolate french silk layer with more Chambord and a little espresso powder added to give it that special “truffle” flavor experience! After much taste-testing and bowl, spoon and beater licking, I finally concluded that it was, in fact, tasting quite like a real truffle! And I even had enough left to fill the pie shell!  

 

 

The only thing it was missing was the outer chocolate layer…I needed a simple ganache. Easily done! I had some chocolate chips left…I think…

 

 

Yes!!!! Success!!! It worked! Garnished with a little whipped cream, a maraschino cherry and some finely grated chocolate….it was a thing of beauty…I had tears….sobbing for my first taste….

 

 

…barely conscious awaiting that first bite…. 

 

 

….and oooooohhhhhh, myyyyyyyyyy was it worth the wait!!! Decadent beyond belief!! 

 

 

So chocoholics alike, this is a day to shout it out and rejoice! I’m a chocoholic and proud of it!!!!

I don’t know that I can even describe the happiness that this pie brought. Like Christmas morning when you were 7…nope. First bike? Nope, better. Winning the lottery?? Ok….mayyyybe. But it will be a sad, sad day when the last piece is gone and the pie plate hits the dishwasher…I can’t bear to even think about it….

Hope you try soon! Definitely company-worthy….if you think that you are brave enough to share. It’s a wee little bit time consuming, but easy as…do I dare say it…pie? 🙂

Have a wonderful day all, and I do truly hope you give this extra-special pie a try!

Shared with:

 

This recipe was chosen as a host favorite!

 

 

RASPBERRY FRENCH SILK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE PIE with CHAMBORD

Serves 8 (Makes 1 – 9″ deep dish pie)

 

For Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbl. sugar

1/3 cup (2.7 or 2 2/3 oz.) melted butter

 

For 1st layer:

1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

1 Tbl. Chambord Liqueur

 

For 2nd layer:

1 stick real butter, softened (*do not substitute)

3/4 cup sugar

2 oz. (2 – 1 oz. squares) Ghirardelli or Baker’s Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Squares, melted and cooled

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbl. Chambord Liqueur

1/4 tsp. espresso powder, I like Madaglia D’Oro

2 extra-large eggs, room temp

 

For 3rd (ganache) layer:

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbl. + 1 tsp. heavy cream or milk

1/16 tsp. espresso powder

 

Optional Garnishes:

whipped cream

fresh raspberries or maraschino cherries with stems

finely grated dark or milk chocolate, I simply used Hershey’s Kisses, and/or finely sifted unsweetened cocoa powder 

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

For crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, stir well the sugar and graham crumbs to mix. Pour in melted butter and stir until all are moistened. Dump into 9″ deep dish pie plate and evenly press crumbs onto bottom and up sides of plate pressing firmly. Pop into preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. Cool then chill.

 

For 1st layer:

Place preserves in small bowl and warm in microwave until melted at 60% for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir again and stir in Chambord. Pour and carefully spread evenly onto bottom of chilled pie crust. Return to fridge and chill until set.

 

For 2nd layer:

In mixer bowl, beat butter. Beat in sugar well. Scrape sides, bottom of bowl and paddle. In small bowl, melt chocolate baking squares according to package directions watching carefully so that you don’t scorch it. Stir well, set in fridge to cool off. When still melted but cooled, pour and spoon into mixer while running and mix in well. Mix in vanilla, Chambord and espresso powder. Scrape everything again. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating each egg 5 minutes and scraping everything well each time to incorporate all of the grains of sugar. Mixture should be pale and extremely creamy. Spread evenly and gently with a spoon and an offset knife over raspberry layer. Chill for several hours or overnight until firm. 

 

For 3rd (ganache) layer:

I small bowl, microwave chips, cream or milk and espresso powder until almost melted, stopping and stirring occasionally. Stir well until completely melted and creamy. Stir for several minutes to cool down a little. Drizzle and pour over top until covered. *If you need to spread this a little, do it carefully and only a tiny bit or you’ll mix the french silk layer into the ganache. When evenly coated, pop back into the fridge to chill until firm. 

To serve, warm a sharp knife in a mug of hot water, wipe dry and cut. Wipe clean, rewarm and wipe dry after each cut. Use a sharp pie server to remove each slice. Garnish with any or all of the optional garnishes listed in the above ingredient section. Store pie covered and refrigerated.